National Magazine Awards 2015 Winners Announced

National Magazine Awards 2015 Winners Announced

Vogue Named Magazine of the Year; James Nachtwey honored

NEW YORK, NY (February 2, 2015) — The winners of the 2015 National Magazine Awards were announced tonight at the annual awards dinner at the New York Marriott Marquis. Vogue was named Magazine of the Year. New York and The New Yorker both won three awards, followed by National Geographic and Nautilus with two each. Also honored was the TIME photojournalist James Nachtwey, who received the Creative Excellence Award for his career-long contributions to magazine media. The dinner was hosted by David Muir, anchor and managing editor of ABC News’ “World News Tonight.”

Known as the Ellies, for the Alexander Calder stabile “Elephant” given to each winner, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia Journalism School. Previously held in May, the awards dinner was moved to February this year to honor finalists and winners closer to dates of publication and was held in conjunction with the American Magazine Media 360° Conference, the premier event for industry leaders. The dinner was sponsored by GfK MRI and Publishers Press; the cocktail reception was sponsored by Quad/Graphics.

More than 580 magazine editors and publishers attended the dinner. Sixty-six magazines brands were honored as finalists; 18 publications won awards in 24 categories. Titles receiving multiple awards were National Geographic for Photography and Tablet Magazine; Nautilus for General Excellence and Website; New York for Design, Magazine Section and Columns and Commentary; and The New Yorker for General Excellence, Essays and Criticism and Fiction.

Six titles were first-time winners: The Atavist for Feature Writing; The Hollywood Reporter for General Excellence; Nautilus for General Excellence and Website; Pacific Standard for Public Interest; The Texas Observer for Multimedia; and Vice News for Video. Other winners were Garden & Gun, Glamour and Men’s Health for General Excellence; Backpacker for Leisure Interests; GQ for Reporting; O, The Oprah Magazine, for Personal Service; San Francisco for Single-Topic Issue; TIME for Feature Photography; and Vogue for Magazine of the Year.

Editors accepting National Magazine Awards for their publications were Joe Cutbirth of The Texas Observer; David DiBenedetto of Garden & Gun; Nancy Gibbs of TIME; Susan Goldberg of National Geographic; Lucy Kaylin of O, The Oprah Magazine; Cynthia Leive of Glamour; Dennis Lewon of Backpacker; Janice Min of The Hollywood Reporter; Jason Mojica of Vice News; Adam Moss of New York; Jim Nelson of GQ; Bill Phillips of Men’s Health; Evan Ratliff of The Atavist; David Remnick of The New Yorker; Michael Segal of Nautilus; Jon Steinberg of San Francisco; Maria Streshinsky of Pacific Standard; and Anna Wintour of Vogue.

Launched in 2013, Nautilus is the first publication to win two National Magazine Awards in its first year of eligibility. The Atavist is the first digital-only publication to win the prestigious Feature Writing award. GQ won the Reporting award for the second time in the last three years. National Geographic won the Photography award for the ninth time. New York won the awards for Design for the second consecutive year and Magazine Section for the sixth time overall. The New Yorker won the award for Essays and Criticism for Roger Angell’s “This Old Man,” Angell’s first National Magazine Award as a writer.

The award winners covered some of the most important stories of the last year, including illegal immigration in The Texas Observer’s “Beyond the Border” in Multimedia; the rise of ISIS in Vice News’ “The Islamic State” in Video; the online harassment of women in Pacific Standard’s “Women Aren’t Welcome Here” in Public Interest; elder care in O, The Oprah Magazine’s “Ready or Not: The Caregiver’s Guide” in Personal Service; LGBT rights in GQ’s “Inside the Iron Closet” in Reporting; and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in TIME’s “Crime Without Punishment” in Feature Photography.

The awards dinner was highlighted by the presentation of the Creative Excellence Award to one of the greatest photojournalists of our time, James Nachtwey. Kira Pollack, the director of photography and visual enterprise at TIME, introduced Mr. Nachtwey, who celebrated his 30th anniversary as a contract photographer for TIME in 2014.

“The National Magazine Awards demonstrate the vitality of magazine media and underscore their importance for both readers and advertisers,” said Sid Holt, chief executive of ASME. “Tonight’s finalists and winners represent only a small sample of the timely, quality content published in 2014 by American magazines in print, on websites and on mobile and social media. The awards show why magazines are trusted by readers, why they rely on magazine media for information and entertainment.”

Established in 1966, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by ASME in association with the Columbia Journalism School. Two hundred sixty-three publications entered the National Magazine Awards this year, submitting 1,548 print and digital entries. Three dozen magazines entered the National Magazine Awards for the first time. More than 25 digital-first publications submitted entries. The awards were judged by 340 magazine-media leaders, including editors, writers, art directors and photography editors as well as journalism educators. The judging was held at Columbia Journalism School on January 7-8. The nominations were announced in an hour-long Twittercast on January 15.

Twenty-nine magazine brands received multiple nominations, led by New York with 10. Bon Appetit and The New Yorker both received six nominations, followed by The Atlantic, GQ and Virginia Quarterly Review, each with four. Magazines with three nominations included The Atavist, Bloomberg Businessweek, Cosmopolitan, Grantland, Harper’s Bazaar, Sunset and Texas Monthly. Publications with two nominations were Garden & Gun, The Hollywood Reporter, Inc., Matter, National Geographic, Nautilus, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, Politico Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, Slate, T Magazine, TIME, Vogue and Wired.

Eight publications were first-time finalists: California Sunday Magazine for Design; Grantland for Video, Feature Writing and Columns & Commentary; Kinfolk for Photography; Matter for Public Interest and Feature Photography; Nautilus for General Excellence and Website; Politico Magazine for General Excellence and Website; Powder for Multimedia; and Refinery29 for Website.

Digital-first finalists included The Atavist for Multimedia, Reporting and Feature Writing; Grantland for Video, Feature Writing and Columns & Commentary; Matter for Public Interest and Feature Photography; Nautilus for General Excellence and Website; Politico Magazine for General Excellence and Website; Refinery29 for Website; and Slate for Multimedia and Public Interest.

Single-Topic IssueHonors print magazines that have devoted a single issue to the comprehensive examination of one subject

Winner: San Francisco for “The Oakland Issue,” June

Finalists: Audubon for “Special Issue: Birds and Climate Change,” September/October; Bloomberg Businessweek for “85th-Anniversary Issue,” December 8; Bon Appétit for “The Thanksgiving Issue,” November; New York for “Health: A Special Issue,” June 9-15

Magazine SectionHonors front- or back-of-the-book departments or sections regularly published in print

Winner: New York for “Strategist”

Finalists: Bloomberg Businessweek for “ETC”; Inc. for “Made”; New York for “The Culture Pages”; Popular Mechanics for “How Your World Works”

Finalists: Bloomberg Businessweek for “Border Lines,” photographs by Kirsten Luce, December 1; Harper’s Magazine for “Dark Heights,” photographs by Benjamin Lowy, May; Matter for “Whoever Saves a Life,” by Matthieu Aikins, photographs and video by Sebastiano Tomada, September 14; New York for “Magic Show,” photographs by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, February 17-24

Essays and CriticismHonors interpretative and critical journalism

Winner: The New Yorker for “This Old Man,” by Roger Angell, February 17 and 24

Magazine of the YearHonors magazines for print and digital editorial excellence and branded content and services, including conferences and events

Winner: Vogue

Finalists: Better Homes and Gardens; Cosmopolitan; The Hollywood Reporter; New York

All publication dates 2014 unless otherwise indicated

About ASME

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. The members of ASME include the editorial leaders of most major consumer and business magazines published in print and on digital platforms. Founded in 1963, ASME works to defend the First Amendment, protect editorial independence and support the development of journalism. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia Journalism School and publishes the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers.

About Columbia Journalism School

For over a century, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has been preparing journalists with instruction and training that stresses academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer, the school opened its doors in 1912 and offers master of science, master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees. Learn more at journalism.columbia.edu.